FundersClub survey shows women-led startups employ more women

U.S. technology startups with at least one female founder report their employee teams are on average 48 percent women, according to a new survey from the FundersClub. This percentage is twice the average reported by U.S. technology startups with no female founders, and higher than the percentage reported by U.S. technology companies including Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb.

Moreover, these women-led startups have executive leadership teams that are on average 38 percent women, 2.4 times the average percentage reported by U.S. technology startups with no female founders. Engineering teams are on average 23 percent women, 2.3 times the average percentage reported by U.S. technology startups with no female founders.

The FundersClub portfolio includes 234 top technology startups headquartered in Silicon Valley, across the U.S., and abroad. Participating in the survey were nearly 100 U.S. tech startups.

Though many of the surveyed founders’ teams are fewer than 20 people, diversity is already top of mind for them, the survey revealed.

Many founders pointed out the importance of looking beyond the immediate networks of the team. “Hire out of network - men know men - target hiring women specifically,” one respondent commented.

Hiring remains one of the most difficult challenges for startup founders, the survey revealed.

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Carla Smith is Executive Vice President of HIMSS. Smith leads HIMSS’s cause-based association. Focused primarily on the US and Canada, Smith leverages her extensive experience in nonprofit management to ensure HIMSS’s ability to achieve its mission and maintain its financial health.

@ReginaHolliday Regina Holliday is a patient rights activist and artist. After spending 16 years working in retail management and six years teaching art, Regina began painting a series of murals depicting the need for clarity and transparency in medical records. http://reginaholliday.blogspot.com/

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Sue Schade, MBA, LCHIME, FCHIME, FHIMSS, is a nationally recognized health IT leader. She recently launched a new healthcare IT advisory firm, StarBridge Advisors, with two colleagues, David Muntz and Russ Rudish.